Cops seek help to find assailant who shot Sikh in US hate crime
US investigators said on Thursday they are seeking the public’s help to identify the masked assailant who shot a Sikh man in the arm in Kent, Washington state, last Friday after telling him to “go back to your own country”.
The victim, Deep Rai, is an American citizen from India and his shooting added to the outrage caused by the killing of Srinivas Kuchibhotla in Kansas by a man who had allegedly mistaken him for an Iranian but had used the same words -- to leave the US.
Both incidents are being investigated as hate crimes. Adam Purinton, the alleged Kansas shooter, is in custody, and charged with murder and attempted murder for shooting Kuchibhotla’s friend Alok Madasani, and Ian Grillot, who survived.
Purinton, who had told Kuchibhotla and Madasani to “get out of my country” at the time of the shooting at a bar in Olathe, Kansas, on February 22, appeared in a court on Thursday, where his lawyer sought more time. He is to appear next on May 9.
The Kent shooter still remains at large, with his search impeded by the fact that he wore a mask covering the lower half of the face, and there were no other witnesses to the shooting other than the victim, Rai, himself.
“We need the public’s assistance to help us solve this crime,” Kent police chief, Ken Thomas, said at a news conference on Thursday. He released a sketch of the assailant made by an artist on the description provided by the victim. The FBI, which joined the investigation as the incident is being treated as a hate crime that mandates lead by the federal investigating agency, has announced a reward of $6,000 for information leading to the shooter’s arrest. There is an additional reward of $1,000 by CrimeStoppers, a non-profit.
Rai has told police that he was working on his vehicle in the driveway of his home at 8pm on Friday when the shooter, whom he has described as a “six-foottall, stocky white man”, according to the Seattle Times, walked up to him. An altercation followed, after which the masked man shot him in the arm and told him to “go back to your own country”, and walked away, on foot. Rai was released from hospital on Sunday.
According to the Seattle Times, Jay S Tabb Jr., special agent in charge, has said that the FBI is trying to determine whether the shooting was a hate crime.
The Indian government has closely followed both incidents.